For Eddie, Cupid’s arrow was way-off target this Valentine’s Day and he has once again been left with a broken heart.

The super-friendly and gentle 14 month-old crossbreed, who has been in our care for over four months, was overlooked for adoption at Wellington SPCA’s Second Chance for Love adopt-a-thon which took place over this Valentine’s weekend.

Eddie is now desperate for a loving family to take him to his new home and show him just how good life can be.

But for many of the other animals in our care, Cupid was working overtime at our adopt-a-thon. The event was a fantastic success with 66 animals (including 21 adult cats) finding their perfect soul-mate – and all just in time for Valentine’s Day.

The adopt-a-thon was supported by the SPCA’s sponsor, Hill’s Science Diet, who was on-hand to give away fantastic starter packs, freebies and spot prizes.

One of the many ‘happy tails’, and a real second chance story to come out of the weekend, was China’s, a one-year-old Labrador crossbreed. China was surrendered to us following allegations that her neck had been stomped on whilst in her then owner’s care. She soon became a favourite of all the staff at our Newtown centre, spending lots of time in the office. So, it was with much delight that we finally saw her getting her Second Chance and being adopted over the weekend. What made the story even more heart-warming was that she was rehomed along with another of our puppies, Kate.

Our inspectors have been busily carrying out property inspections and our centres will be brimming with excited new owners as they come in to pick up their new family members and take them to their new forever homes.

Despite the fantastic results of the adopt-a-thon, our centres are still stretched to capacity – we are caring for over 230 animals in our centres at present and have 210 animals currently in foster care. A major contributory factor in these huge numbers is a lack of responsibility being shown by pet owners, who continue to fail to desex and microchip their animals. These two straightforward procedures would see hundreds of animals being saved from abandonment and would ensure more lost animals were able to be reunited with their owners.

We are constantly in need of permanent homes for the animals in our care. Public misconceptions continue to exist regarding the fate of the animals in our care. Wellington SPCA is committed to the ‘Saving Lives’ philosophy and part of this is a commitment to a no time limit policy – any animal fit for adoption will remain in our care until a home can be found. This policy has resulted in numerous animals remaining with us for many, many months – just like Eddie. But we will continue to do work tirelessly to ensure he, and as many of the unwanted, homeless animals in our care, get the second chance they deserve.

Our Second Chance for Love adopt-a-thon is nearly here!

We’ve got hundreds of cats, kittens, dogs, puppies and rabbits all desperately seeking love this Valentine’s weekend. Can you mend a broken heart and adopt an animal this weekend?

Here’s just two of the animals with a special story of their own.

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Second Chance for Love is a great day out and a fantastic opportunity to meet the some of the hardworking cupids at your local SPCA as well as the animals in need of homes. You might just find your soul-mate – or they may find you! The event is sponsored by Hill’s Pet Nutrition - the exclusive feeding sponsor to the SPCA, providing premium nutrition for every animal in every SPCA centre as they await their special someone.

Both our Newtown or Waikanae animal centres will have extended opening hours over the weekend of the adopt-a-thon and we have heaps of spot prizes and Hill’s pet food to give away. And if you meet your true love and adopt a new family member, you can enter the draw to win a year’s supply of Hill’s Science Diet™ pet food by visiting the website at www.secondchanceforlove.co.nz and sharing your adoption story.

You can also vote for your favourite SPCA – the centre with the most votes will win a $1,000 donation from Hill’s. We’ve won for the last two years running so let’s do the hat-trick!!

The annual adopt-a-thon has been a great success in previous years, with the 2010 event seeing nearly 30 SPCA centres participating and over 500 lucky animals finding their forever homes. This year, 34 SPCA’s will play match-maker, with the aim of finding loving homes for even more animals.

Join in the fun at your local SPCA this Valentine’s Weekend; you may just meet the love of your life!

Doors open at our Newtown and Waikanae animal centres at 9am and stay open until 7pm on Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th February.

About Second Chance for Love
Since its inception, the Hill’s Science Diet Centre Nutrition Partnership programme has been committed to providing superior nutrition to centres for homeless dogs and cats across New Zealand, Australia and the United States, to help give them a second chance.  As the largest centre feeding sponsor in New Zealand, Hill’s provides SPCA centres with free, high quality nutritious food to help the animals attain good health to prepare them for adoption to happy loving families.

About Hill’s™ Pet Nutrition
Hill’s Pet Nutrition manufactures Science Diet™ brand pet foods sold through veterinarians, SPCA and pet specialty food stores, and Prescription Diet™ therapeutic brand pet foods available only through veterinarians. Founded more than 60 years ago by one veterinarian’s unique commitment to pet nutrition and wellbeing, Hill’s follows its mission to help enrich and lengthen the special relationships between people and their pets by producing high quality, great tasting pet food. Explore www.hillspet.co.nz for more information.